Both film versions of Phillip Barry's stage comedy +Holiday have their merits, but the 1938 version has the added advantage of supercharged star power. Katharine Hepburn and Doris Nolan play Linda and Julia Seton, two daughters of a… MoreBoth film versions of Phillip Barry's stage comedy +Holiday have their merits, but the 1938 version has the added advantage of supercharged star power. Katharine Hepburn and Doris Nolan play Linda and Julia Seton, two daughters of a very well-to-do family. Linda feels a bit lost in the shuffle as sister Julia prepares to marry self-made financier Cary Grant. Hepburn has always rebelled against her privileged trappings, and finds a kindred spirit in the unorthodox, iconoclastic Grant. On the verge of compromising his down-to-earth values with his marriage to the wealth-obsessed Nolan, Grant chooses instead to plight his troth with soul-mate Hepburn, celebrating his "liberation" by doing several cartwheels. Donald Ogden Stewart is careful to bring the pre-Depression frivolities of the Barry play up-to-date, first by changing the character of Grant's best friend (played in both films by Edward Everett Horton) from a lazy socialite to a dedicated professor, and by including several lines indicating how out of touch the privileged classes are--and choose to remain--with 1930s realities. The only element in which the remake does not improve on the original is in the casting of Hepburn's alcoholic younger brother; charming though Lew Ayres is in the 1938 film, he is still outclassed by Monroe Owsley in Holiday (1930). Katharine Hepburn managed to temporarily defray her "box office poison" onus when Holiday proved to be a success; alas, her next film, Bringing Up Baby (which reteamed her with Grant), was a financial bust, compelling her to return to Broadway--where she made a spectacular comeback in another Philip Barry play, +The Philadelphia Story.

A romantic comedy ahead of its time, suggesting that happiness may be found in freedom, away from the pernicious wealth of high society - but a bit naive,… MoreA romantic comedy ahead of its time, suggesting that happiness may be found in freedom, away from the pernicious wealth of high society - but a bit naive, reducing the complexity of its themes to matters of right and wrong while ending on an easy, predictable resolution.

Aj V

I loved this movie, it's hilarious, a great cast, and an interesting if slightly predictable story. Still I love it, one of my favourite 30s movies.

William Dunmyer

I am finishing my study of 1938 with a delightful trifle called "Holiday," which received only one Oscar nomination, and a minor one at that. I… MoreI am finishing my study of 1938 with a delightful trifle called "Holiday," which received only one Oscar nomination, and a minor one at that. I included it simply because it was a big film that year, and I wanted to broaden my cinematic sample. I was also eager to check in with Katharine Hepburn and see what she was doing that year. She and Cary Grant were entertaining the masses and doing a wonderful job at it.
At the start of "Holiday," Grant's character, Johnny, is a playful but hard-working man from a lower-class background who has fallen in love with a woman named Julia while on his first-ever vacation. Julia has a secret: she is an heiress in one of the richest families in America. When the truth comes out, Johnny takes it in stride. But he soon realizes that marrying into a family of this type comes with a lot of expectations. Julia's father requires that Johnny make certain commitments for what type of job he's going to have and what sort of lifestyle he will pursue.
The free-spirited Johnny quickly begins to feel collared. One person understands: Julia's rebellious, counter-cultural sister, Linda (Hepburn). Director George Cukor does a wonderful job building up the audience's hopes that Johnny and Linda will team up against Julia and her repressive family. "Holiday" is a delightful celebration of joie de vivre and youthful enthusiasm, and Grant and Hepburn give it just the right kind of joyful pizzazz.
It's a superficial story though, and the characters are nothing more than caricatures. So the film doesn't warrant more than a seven. But what a wonderful seven it is.

Kevin M. Williams

chemistry is chemistry, so don't mess w/it, ok? something about these two clicked. she was quicksilver smart and bold and he was man enough to take it like… Morechemistry is chemistry, so don't mess w/it, ok? something about these two clicked. she was quicksilver smart and bold and he was man enough to take it like a man maybe...whatever, a great movie team the star system, in it's infinite wisdom, saw fit to reteam over and over again. yer not gonna argue w/ the studio heads are you?

Jim Hunter

A self-made man is engaged to an upper class lady, but will the impending marriage cause him to betray his dreams?
Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn have never… MoreA self-made man is engaged to an upper class lady, but will the impending marriage cause him to betray his dreams?
Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn have never been more delightful. Their performances, in that quick and lively manner of old cinema, flies off their tongues. The plot and "message" of the film is that one should always "follow one's dreams," and while that's not a new story, it will never be old.
Overall, this is a wonderful time at the movies, and Grant and Hepburn are in top form.

Conner Rainwater

I think this movie has stood the test of time mainly because of the amazing chemistry between Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. While they share very little… MoreI think this movie has stood the test of time mainly because of the amazing chemistry between Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. While they share very little time being intimate or expressing their love for each other in words, you can see it in their eyes. To add to that, the story really is quite original and it doesn't fall under the typical love story category. It goes against capitalism in many ways too, something I consider very brave at the time.

Stephen M

This isn't as deliriously paced or as quirky as other screwball comedies, but it's still completely delightful. Because it is immediately obvious that… MoreThis isn't as deliriously paced or as quirky as other screwball comedies, but it's still completely delightful. Because it is immediately obvious that Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn will fall for one another eventually, the joy in watching "Holiday" comes from the circuitous route taken to get to the inevitable. Lew Ayres' character, Hepburn's younger brother, cuts through the frothy fun to add a genuine note of darkness and despair. The-ghost-of-Grant-yet-to-pass, Ayres' financial trader with an artistic soul, slipping into apathy and alcoholism because he's been trammelled by materialism, represents Grant's dreamer as compromised by his practical fiancée and prospective father-in-law. The whole cast is marvellous, but I especially like Henry Daniell and Binnie Barnes as Hepburn's catty cousins. Hepburn is at her loveliest here, less cynical than usual. "I've got all the faith in the world in Johnny...If he wants to dream for a while, he can dream for a while. And if he wants to come back and sell peanuts, oh, how I'll believe in those peanuts!"

Jennifer Xu

my first introduction to katharine hepburn. boy is SHE talented. i finally understand her multitude of oscar nominations. i look forward to seeing many more of… Moremy first introduction to katharine hepburn. boy is SHE talented. i finally understand her multitude of oscar nominations. i look forward to seeing many more of her movies!

xGary Xx

Cary Grant plays an up and coming self-made man who falls in love with a girl who unbeknownst to him, is a debutante and member of one of the wealthiest… MoreCary Grant plays an up and coming self-made man who falls in love with a girl who unbeknownst to him, is a debutante and member of one of the wealthiest families in the country. Combining romance, sparkling dialogue and social commentary, it comes as no surprise that Holiday was created by much of the same team who brought us Philadelphia Story two years later. With the same director, writer and the star power of Hepburn and Grant, there's much common ground between the two films but although it's not quite in the same league as the later film there's still much to admire about it. Hepburn has never been more vivacious as the rebellious would-be sister in law of a charming and carefree Grant who finds in her a kindred spirit which causes complications in this stuffy social environment. They are aided by a fine supporting cast including Lew Ayres who provides comic relief as her soused but perceptive brother and Binny Barnes and Henry Daniell as the awful socialites who represent the kind of people Grant is seemingly being strong armed into marry into. Breezy, charming and full of enjoyable dialogue and likeable characters, Holiday may not be as well known as some of the other comedies of manners of the golden age but is certainly worth looking up if it's a genre you enjoy.

Jennifer D

I liked the moral of the story more than I liked the screwball comedy. I've definitely seen better Cary Grant, but still, it was cute and worth the time.

Pierluigi Puccini

A lightweight and lovely romantic film. Grant and Hepburn are always amazing together.